Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel wasted no time in criticizing Will Smith at Sunday’s ceremony, which took place a year after the actor slapped Chris Rock onstage.
Kimmel joked about the infamous moment during his monologue at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
“We want you to have fun, we want you to feel safe, and most importantly, we want me to feel safe,” Kimmel said. “So, we have strict policies. If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any time during the show, they will be awarded the Best Actor Oscar and will be allowed to give a 19-minute speech.”
Smith slapped host Rock at the 2022 Oscars for a joke about his wife’s shaved head, Jada Pinkett Smith. Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia due to hair loss. Smith, who won best actor for “King Richard” shortly after the incident, has since been banned from the Academy Awards for a decade.
Kimmel returned to present the Oscars for the third time, and for the first time since 2018. He emceed the 2017 ceremony in which Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty mistakenly named “La La Land” for best picture instead of the actual winner, “Moonlight.”
